Hot heater Drain valve is applied to the bottom of the water heater and functions in draining the water from the heater. Drain valves came in different materials, they may be plastic drain valves or brass drain valves. One must continually check drain valve t see if it is not working properly. There are some conditions which point to check and replace the drain valve. If those conditions are achieved, then drain valve should be replaced immediately. These conditions are:
- If your water heater drain valve is leaking.
- If the drain valve is not assisting in good water flow
Then it’s time to replace your drain valve with a new one. This can be done by anyone in almost 30-40 minutes provided you are equipped with some basic tools like wrench and screwdriver.
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Contents
Brass Water Heater Drain Valve:
This drain valve is made up of brass. It is mostly opened and closed by a flat screwdriver. Plastic water heater drain valve: Plastic hot water heater drain valve is made from a plastic material. This plastic is not soft rather it is bit tough one type of plastic to endure hot water through it.
This plastic drain valve is easy to turn on and off, however, these valves are easy to cross thread when attaching the drain hose. This water heater drain valve is opened by screwing to the left after the drain hose is connected. These valves cause troubles only when opening them and drain hose will twist into knobs.
Worst of all, it’s possible for one to pop off the nipple it’s attached to and cause burns and/or flood your house. It’s a good idea to run all your hot water out of the tank before you drain it if you have one of these valves.
RUDD water heaters:
RUDD water heater means Flammable Vapor Ignition Resistant. An ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard went into effect in July 2003 that will prevent a water heater from igniting flammable vapours outside the combustion chamber. This helps to protect homes. Moreover, it also protects the environment and aids in the limited use of water.
Ruud offers a full range of different water heaters to suit water heating needs for both residential and light commercial applications. Ruud water heater types offered include the following: Gas water heaters both tanked and tankless versions of water heaters.
What you’ll need for replacement?
The things that you will need in replacing the drain valve are as follows:
- Replacement Drain Valve.
- An adjustable Wrench
- Flat Blade Screwdriver
- Pipe sealer or Teflon tape
- Garden hose or pipe
- Rags and Towels for enhancing safety
How to replace the drain valve?
We will begin through a stepwise approach in replacing the drain valve. But you must make sure to adopt precautions as draining hot water heater may put you at the risk of being scalded by hot water so please be careful.
Step:1 (turn off the power):
First, turn off the power supply to your electric water heater from the circuit breaker so you are protected against any electric hazard during replacement of the valve. Also, turn off the gas breakers for gas heaters and then turn off the gas supply.
Step:2 (attaching garden hose):
After turning the electric or gas supply then attach the garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the heater. Another end of the hose is to be put nearest floor drain or outside the house. Be restricted to use the bucket because the water heater contains too much water and the bucket is not a feasible option.
Step:3 (preparation to drain water off the tank:
As replacing drain valve requires no hot water disturbance during replacing as it may burn your hands and new drain valve is not properly attached. So, we decided before draining old water in the tank. This includes a shut-off valve at the cold-water inlet line, or it can be done by shutting off the main water supply. Then open the hot water tap somewhere in the house because it will relieve the system pressure inside the hot water tank.
Step:4 (Draining):
Now open the drain valve by flat blade screwdriver and allow the water to release or drain from another end of the hose that is placed near a floor drain or outside the house. During draining you will notice some small white particles or sediments those are salt deposits in the drain valve when the flow is initiated. Also be careful because water will be hot, and it may cause burns to someone near it.
Step:5 (installing new valve):
When all old water is drained close the drain valve by a screwdriver and remove the hose. Then remove the old drain valve with a wrench. Some additional water may drain out during this process so use rags and towels. Afterward, take a new drain valve and apply 5-6 rounds of Teflon tape to covered and seal threads. Again, use a wrench to tighten new drain valve but make sure new drain valve is in closed, if not then do it by a screwdriver.
Step:6 (filling tank again):
Now to fill the tank again firstly, open the hot water tap followed by opening the closed cold-water supply line. So, the heater starts to fill. Also, check the new drain valve if it is leaking or dripping not due to the tight attachment.
Step:7 (turning on the power):
When the stream of water from the opened tap continues then close the tap. Now at last turn, the power ON for electric heaters and for gas heaters turn the gas supply ON.
Step:8 (finalizing the task):
In the end, check for drains and leaks of the new drain valve after 24 hours to ensure proper working.
In this way, you have replaced the old drain valve with a new drain valve effectively. This is an easy method of installation and can easily be done by anyone at home. If in the case of difficulty in installing, then contact professionals instead of doing it on your own.
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